5 Steps for Beating Sugar Cravings:

1.    Eat Whole Grains and sweet vegetables.
2.    Chew Well
3.    Give up dairy and pick up sea vegetables.
4.    Try natural sweeteners
5.    Be patient with yourself.

Natural Sweeteners

Maple syrup is an excellent substitute for sugar. It is high in trace minerals like zinc and manganese, which can assist in heart health and in balancing cholesterol levels. The light “Grade A” or “Number 1 can contain formaldehyde runoff from the first extraction of the syrup under certain processing conditions. All the other grades are safe, but Grade C (the darkest amber syrup) is the best.

Honey is another item that’s often presented as a healthy alternative to refined sugar, but it is sometimes controversial. People who react to sugar as a “brain allergy” (especially common in children, for whom it can trigger ADD/ADHD symptoms) may react to honey the same way. It is high glycemic, and hits the body as a hard sweet. Raw, unpasteurized honey is rich in elements which can help with wound healing, kill bacteria, soothe sore throats and digestive upset, and decrease local allergy symptoms. Honey is also sweeter than sugar by volume, so you need less in baking or cooking.

Agave is a sweetener extracted from a South American cactus, and traditionally used to make tequila. Often called “honey water,” the agave nectar or agave syrup is light, both in taste and colour. It is runnier than honey and tastes much milder, but is in fact sweeter so even less is required in cooking. Agave is extraordinarily low glycemic – it has almost no impact on blood sugar, making it an ideal sweetener for diabetics and those who are sensitive to sugars.

Blackstrap molasses is a sweetener that is actually good for you. Unlike refined white sugar and corn syrup, which are stripped of virtually all nutrients except simple carbohydrates, or artificial sweeteners like saccharine or aspartame, which not only provide no useful nutrients but have been shown to cause health problems in sensitive individuals, blackstrap molasses is a healthful sweetener that contains significant amounts of a variety of minerals that promote your health.

Brown rice syrup is a liquid sweetener with the consistency of honey. It can be substituted for honey in baking. It has a unique caramel-like flavor that can be used to enhance a recipe, but it will disappear if used sparingly in a recipe.
Brown rice syrup metabolizes slowly but does have calories and carbohydrates. Diabetics and low-carb dieters should use it with caution. Brown rice syrup is considered to be one of the healthiest sweeteners in the natural food industry, since it is produced from a whole food source and is made up of the simple sugars.
Foods to emphasiz e:

•    Whole Grains (especially brown rice, oats and barley)
•    Beans (especially azuki beans and lentils)
•    Miso
•    Sweet Vegetables: Carrots, onions, winter squash, cabbage
•    Brown rice mochi

Snack Ideas

•    Dates stuffed with almond or walnut
•    Apple with nut butter
•    Rice cake with agave, jam or brown rice syrup
•    Tea with molasses
•    Carrots with hummus
•    Handful of almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds

Recipe for Radiance

Sweet Vegetable Drink

This has a milder effect on the body compared with refined sugar or even sugar from fruits and fruit juices. Thus, it helps to balance the blood sugar level and leave a comfortable feeling.

It also helps reduce sugar cravings, which is especially important for people with conditions like diabetes and candida infection.
To prepare sweet vegetable drink, you need:

* 1/4 cup carrot
* 1/4 cup cabbage
* 1/4 cup pumpkin or squash
* 1/4 cup large onion

Grate or finely cut the vegetables.

Add four cups water and bring to the boil. Reduce fire and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Strain and drink only the liquid

Azuki-Squash-Kombu
Makes 4 servings

Soaking time: 8 hours or over night
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 + hours

Ingredients:

1 cup azuki beans, washed, and soaked in 2 cups water

1 cup hard winter squash (such as butternut, buttercup or kabocha), cut in large cubes

1-inch square piece of kombu

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

water

parsley, chopped, for garnish

•Place the kombu on the bottom of a heavy pot.
•Add the soaked beans with soaking water and, if necessary add enough  water to just cover the beans.
•Bring to a boil over a medium flame. When it comes to boil, cover the  pot, reduce the flame to low, and simmer for 1 hour.
•Add a little water occasionally, as needed, to keep the beans just  covered. Do not add too much water, as the less water there is the  more rich the flavor of the beans will be.
•After 1 hour, place the squash on top of the azukis, re-cover the pot  and continue simmering 1 hour more. The beans and squash should both  be very tender at this point.
•Add the salt by sprinkling over the top of the beans and squash. Stir salt  in a little, very gently so as not to break up the squash piece, and cook  15 minutes more, uncovered to reduce the liquid. If there is still a lot of  water after 15 minutes you can continue simmering uncovered as long  as you like, just keep the flame very low and check regularly to make  sure it does not scorch.
•Serve hot garnished with parsley.

Leftovers will keep refrigerated up to 3 days.